On Saturday, several seniors could boost their stock in state championship games, including Naperville Central linebacker Mike Lucas and quarterback Phil Horvath, Downers Grove South wide receiver Kent Hughes, Prospect wide receiver Mike Anderson and Providence linebacker Rory Steinbach and offensive linemen Brian Lydigsen and Matt Rogers.
Naperville Central coach Joe Bunge believes he has six players deserving of scholarship offers--Lucas, Horvath, defensive back Brad Matthews, wide receiver Tyke Spencer, linebacker Nick Ehrlick and tailback Jason Paquette.
Lucas, a 6-2, 230-pounder with 4.6 speed who earned All-Chicago Area honors, has no offers. Neither does Matthews, a 5-11, 180-pounder with 4.5 speed who is his team's leading tackler. Horvath has an offer from Northern Illinois and has attracted interest from Illinois and Iowa.
Downers South coach John Belskis said Hughes, a 6-foot, 180-pounder with 4.5 speed, reminds him of former Wheaton-Warrenville South star Jon Schweighardt. Hughes, who didn't start playing football until his sophomore year, has caught 43 passes for 934 yards and 12 touchdowns, including seven in the last four playoff games. He also had the winning two-point conversion in the Mustangs' overtime victory over Maine South in the Class 8A semifinal.
Anderson hasn't received much attention because he played tailback as a junior. This season, he missed the first two games and has played with a splint on his right hand because of a compound dislocation. Despite the injury, he has caught 30 passes, averaging 25 yards per catch.
Providence coach Matt Senffner said Steinbach "is as hard a hitter as I've had in 36 years, like [former Providence and Notre Dame star] Pete Bercich.'' The 6-3, 190-pounder with 4.6 speed, who could play strong safety in college, averages 14 tackles per game. Illinois and Iowa have expressed interest. His brother Eric is a starting offensive lineman at Iowa.
Lydigsen (6-3, 265) and Rogers (6-5, 265) are attracting interest from NIU and other Mid-America schools.
"If Lydigsen was 6-5 or 6-6, he would be recruited by more big-time schools,'' Senffner said.
Scouts also will be sizing up a promising and talented crop of junior linemen, including Downers Grove South's Martin O'Donnell (6-5, 270) and Kevin Gage (6-5, 275), Prospect's Chris Bergner (6-4, 235) and Jim Argentine (6-3, 210), Joliet Catholic's Steve Douglas (6-4, 280) and Richards' Mike Jones (6-5, 270).
Belskis said O'Donnell, an All-Chicago Area selection, "is the best line prospect I've had in 22 years--by far.'' O'Donnell also is an outstanding student with a 4.2 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale.
Joliet Catholic running back J.R. Zwierzynski, one of the nation's top prospects, isn't wasting time in the recruiting process. Next week, he will visit Boston College. On Dec. 7, he will visit Penn State. He also plans visits to Northwestern and Notre Dame, and possibly Wisconsin.